When Wayne was a Whippersnapper: Persuasion pays off

By PAUL LOCHER Staff Writer Published: September 12, 2012 3:59 AM

ORRVILLE -- Judge Smith Orr plunged into the effort to attract the railroad to come through Baughman and Green townships with a zeal seemingly unmatched by any other proponent.

A deal was hammered out in 1848 with the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad in which Orr was to get residents of the two townships to raise $150,000 by purchasing stock at $50 per share. Pittsburgh, in turn, was to raise $600,000 as its portion of the deal.

While raising $150,000 at that time might have seemed like an impossibly daunting proposition, Orr and Jessie Straughan went to work and raised the sum with surprising ease. But there were problems at the other end of the line.

The citizens of Pittsburgh had not pitched as much as one red cent into the deal, complaining of hard times and poor trade along the river system. As a result, Straughan, from Orrville, was sent to Pittsburgh to represent the entire state of Ohio and its railroad interests.

Subsequently, a plan was devised in which the city councils of Pittsburgh and Allegheny would each subscribe $200,000 to the development of the railroad. Through this strategy the citizens of the area were expected to come up with $400,000 toward the goal.

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In 1850, it was announced the financial goal had been reached and news spread like wildfire across Ohio that the railroad was coming.

But there was a problem.

Even though Judge Smith Orr had seen to it his area had raised the necessary amount of money, the leadership of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad refused to give him any guarantee the rail line would actually pass through Green and Baughman townships.

Orr was very concerned because he had seen the residents of another township in Ohio raise the requested amount of money for the railroad, survey and grade the land and even lay ties, only to have their area bypassed in favor of another location.

In an effort to ensure his area actually would have a rail line pass through it, Orr made a promise to the Ohio and Pennsylvania Railroad he would do several things. First, he would construct a water tank where engines coming through could take on water for their steam boilers. Next, he promised to construct a sawmill near the water tank.

The sawmill, he promised, would furnish free wood to fire the boilers of the engines. In addition, he promised to use the sawmill to maintain a supply of free ties the railroad would have at its disposal. It was an offer that was too good to refuse, and the Pennsylvania and Ohio gladly agreed to build its line through Orr's area.

Sources: "History of Wayne County, Ohio" by Ben Douglass and "Orrville, Ohio, Walking Through the Past" by Robert Witmer and Darla K. Landers

Friday: The rise of Orrville

Reporter Paul Locher can be reached at 330-682-2055 or plocher@the-daily-record.com.